A training-cum-awareness programme on Cultivation and Processing of Aromatic Crops under the CSIR-Aroma Mission for the benefit of planters and farmers was organised on Thursday at the Conference Hall of Bharatiya Cha Parishad in Dibrugarh.

The speakers enlightened several tea planters, who participated in the programme, on ways to boost cultivation of various aromatic crops like Rose, Rosemary and Lemon grass and medicinal plants like Ashwagandha.

The purpose of the programme was to boost cultivation, value addition of medicinal and aromatic plants to enhance farmers’ income through supplying to products to industries related to aromatic business in the Northeastern region.

Manohari Tea Estate in the district of Dibrugarh, Assam has already started plantation of ‘Damask Rose’ Marjorum, Ashwagandha, Stevia, rose, Jatamansi, scented Geranium, oregano and giloi which are yielding fruitful results.

In the awareness programme, initiated by Rajan Lohia, Managing Director of Manohari Tea Estate, the participants were imparted training on insect and pest management through organic means also.

The training-cum-awareness programme concluded with a vote of thanks by Nalin Khemani, Deputy Chairman, Bharatiya Cha Parishad who said, “The cost of tea production is ever increasing while buyers’ pressure for lower prices remains unchanged. Value addition will be the key factor for sustainability and accessing the ever growing segment of the Specialty Tea consuming world.”

Northeast Now is a multi-app based hyper-regional bilingual news portal. Led by a group of professionals, the digital news platform covers every inch of the eight states of northeast India and the five neighbouring countries. It is the first of its kind new media initiative in the northeast, and is based in Guwahati. As the political dynamics in the northeast is intricate and fluid, Northeast Now is always politically neutral.